Review

MeyMey Seng

Staff Writer

On May 18, 2017, Liam James Payne released a new song called Strip That Down. Many people know him as a member of the biggest boyband, One Direction. After five years of producing songs and going on tours, the band decided to take hiatus, lasting one year.

With this hiatus, all of the boys have chose the same path which is creating their own individual music. Coincidentally, each member chose a different genre to base their album off on. One Direction usually produces pop songs, and the other boys have explored R&B, electronics, acoustics, and rock. Hip-hop was what Liam decided to choose which shocked many people.

Before releasing his song, Liam has posted many teaser clips of how the song may sound. Honestly, most recently I have favored Liam and love his voice. Also, pop is my favorite genre of music but recently, I have been getting interest in hip-hop which gave me a silly thought: he knows what kind of music I want to hear!

When my phone notified me that the lyric video was posted, I immediately slammed my thumb down to click it. My first reaction was that the beat was good but then I did not enjoy the lyrics. The lyrics “But your love, it hit me hard, girl. Yeah, you’re bad for my health. I love the cards, that I’ve been dealt” felt very out of place and almost as if it was all smushed together. I felt like it sounded generic and it didn’t make me jump as much as I had anticipated. Also, the record company’s design of the lyric video was not my favorite, although I appreciated the purple, gold, and grey theme of the it.

Of course, even though the lyrics did not have the meaningful lyrics that I hoped for, Liam’s voice was still pleasant. A quarter way until the end of the lyric video, there was a verse that was sung by Quavo that I enjoyed more, mostly because the lyrics flowed a bit more smoothly. The thing that surprised me was that Ed Sheeran, an artist that I enjoy a lot, helped write the song. Knowing that two amazing people worked with one another in writing this song, it should be a lot better.

The music video came out on June 2, which I liked a lot more. The choreography was done well, especially knowing that the band was not focused on dancing. Something that I loved that they including clips of him laughing at the camera. It struck that fangirl part of me and after listening to the song a bunch of times, it got onto me. So apart of me finds myself going back and listening to this song because I have to give it one thing, that it was very catchy.

For the rest of the songs in his album, I definitely hope that things spiral upwards and has a more unique sense into it. According to Liam Payne, hip-hop was always a genre that he has wanted to go into. Although, with all of the different music tastes that the other boys have, not all their ideas would be able to be produced. Also, after producing his song, he admittedly said that it does feel nice having all of the control of the song.

Lauren Nicolella

Staff Writer

Harry Styles released a self-titled album on May 12th that’s made its way up high on the iTunes charts right after being released. It contains 10 tracks, each telling its own story while introducing a more rock sound into mainstream music.

Admittedly, this is a bit of a biased review because I am an ongoing fan of One Direction. I am here to support each individual’s solo career and music because they are truly my favorite band of all time.

Those who did not previously enjoy Harry while he was singing in One Direction found themselves listening to his solo album and thoroughly enjoying certain songs. Sophomore Lucien Hearn had those exact feelings, “The vocals really shine through even though I haven’t liked them in previous years.”

Meet Me in the Hallway

The beginning of this song is mellow, with very soft and almost gloomy vocals that lead into a louder chorus. There is something about the first 20 seconds of the song that makes me feel so pleasant and want to look out of a car window dramatically. I can’t picture another song to open up the album because it is the perfect sound in preparation for the upcoming tracks that portray different styles.

Sign of the Times

I already did a review of this song on SLA media, check it out here!

Carolina

My only words I have to say about this song: what a bop. After having slower and sadder songs to begin with, Carolina is the perfect upbeat song to sing and dance to. An interesting story is being told, about a girl who moved to the west coast after living in Carolina. Every time it comes on shuffle, I want to get up and shout out the lyrics because the chorus is so fun and catchy.

Two Ghosts

I imagined this to be a super sad song based on the title, but instead it sounds a bit more upbeat. Although, the lyrics talk about how two people, who were possibly friends or in a relationship, are “not who they used to be”, making listeners face the reality that they can relate to what is being sung.

Sweet Creature

When I first heard this song, I did not like it. I don’t know what I had against it because after listening to it a few more times it eventually grew on me. It is a very sweet song, it makes me want to drink lemonade on a nice summer day while sitting on a porch or something.

Only Angel

The beginning of this song has an incredible gospel harmony, mixing in the piano from Sign of the Times. It sounds like you are floating up to heaven, ready to enter the gates. Then suddenly it stops and rock music intrudes. Harry screams a “hey, hey!” grabbing my attention instantly, and that’s when I claimed this to be my favorite song off of this album. To have that buildup and have the song completely change was super unexpected, but also the greatest thing ever. I imagine this to be a song that Harry opens his concert with, or hopefully mixes it into his performance of Sign of the Times.

Kiwi

I was hoping that Harry would make a song like this and I am completely satisfied with it. When I previously mentioned how Harry is bringing rock back into mainstream music this is exactly the song I am talking about that is doing so. When you have a line like “I’m having your baby, it’s none of your business” how can you not be intrigued to take a quick listen? I love listening to older rock songs and imagine that I am magically able to play the guitar, which is exactly what I do with this song because I get those old rock sounds.

Ever Since New York

I heard this song when Harry performed on Saturday Night Live a few weeks before his album was released and I could not stop watching. I do prefer it live rather than the studio version. The chorus is insanely catchy with its repetitive “Oh, tell me something I don’t already know”. Seeing Harry play the guitar made me want to scream (in a good way, of course), because he is truly becoming a rock legend whether people like it or not.

Woman

One thing I noticed about this album by the time I reached the eighth track: there are some great bass lines throughout these songs. This was one of those songs where I could hear the heavy rock influence, because the guitar solo at the end had me feeling major Pink Floyd vibes. There is a sound made by Harry that replicates the quacking of a duck, and I absolutely love it; it makes the song a bit more unique, in my opinion.

From the Dining Table

If you have access to headphones, I am asking you to please wear them while listening to this song. It sounds like Harry is right at your ear. This slow song sadly ends the album, explaining how “comfortable silence is overrated”. The harmonies and very light strums of an acoustic guitar set the perfect tone for a dramatic rainy day scene.

Overall Album Rating: 9/10

I strongly encourage everyone to take a listen to this album, Harry should not be ignored since he is apart of a boyband. He was talented while being in One Direction, and is pursuing his own personal music taste, still having a large amount of talent. Sophomore Meymey Seng expressed her feelings towards that statement. “I hope that people will gain an appreciation for his voice when One Direction comes off of their hiatus and start producing new songs, because it is still his voice no matter what the song is.”

Maddi Etxebeste

Staff Writer

What is the “Eurovision Song Contest”?

Yearly, a big international music contest is held in Europe, called the Eurovision Song Contest. It is the longest-running annual international TV song competition, held since 1956. It is also one of the most watched non-sporting events in the world. Each participating country has to submit an original song to be performed on live television and then each country votes giving a certain amount of points to decide who is the winner. Since 1981, the winner country hosts the next year’s contest. This year it is hosted in Kiev, Ukraine, after Jamala’s victory with her emotional song “1994”, which caused controversy in Europe due to its political content.

Almost no Americans watch this contest, although hundreds of millions of people around the globe live for it (including me!)

This year, there is one song that is standing out and impressing Europe:  “Origo”, sung by Joci Pápai. This will be the song representing Hungary. Joci Pápai is a Romani-Hungarian singer, rapper, songwriter and guitarist. A popular English term for Romani people is “gipsy”.

This song stands out by having ethnic sounds and dances, and its peculiar chorus. He tackles some tough topics as ethnic discrimination and prejudices. Pápai sings it in Hungarian and he describes his song as a “message of hope and strength” to all the Romani minorities in the world, who, in some countries, may feel mistreated. He also explains how he found his strength in God and he describes himself as a “believer, dreamer, father, fighter, singer, and Samurai”.

The song also tells the story of a Romani man, him, falling in love with a White European woman, and how belonging to the ethnicity he belongs to was a problem that kept them apart from each other, as he says in the song: “Hogy meghódítsd a szívem ismerned kell lelkemet” which means something like “To conquer my heart you must know my soul.”

I wanted to do a review about this song because ethnic minorities in many countries suffer from not being treated the same way as natives, and because SLA has people from different cultures within the community, and if they never feel bad because of their origins this song shows how a man is having the same troubles. Maybe you can get to feel, or at least see how he suffered with the tone of his voice.  

The first time I heard this song, along with the others presented this year, I was really surprised and I didn’t really know what I just heard. First of all, I don’t understand Hungarian, but I’m pleased that he decided to sing in his national language because most of the other songs are nowadays sung in English to “make it more international”. The song could be described by people as “weird”, because it is obvious that it is not a song that is going to be played in the radio stations worldwide and that it will not please most of the people if they listen to it for the first or second time.

The live performance add a lot to the song.  Pápai appears with a woman who dances with a Romani style and with movements similar to “flamenco” dances in Spain. In the official video this woman also appears dancing and there are also shots of someone’s hand touching his heart. Even if the staging is not extraordinary it complements the song, the singer, and the dancer.

Something that can also surprise the audience is how “ethnic” the song sounds and suddenly hearing how Pápai starts to rap, and is combining two styles that are completely different.

“this song is a blend of styles: electronic beats, Hungarian popular music and gipsy style.” Once, in an interview, he was asked why did he add the part of the rap in the song, and he answered “In the Eurovision Song Contest songs can only last three minutes as a maximum, and rap is the best way I can say all the things I want to say and fast enough to tell you all of them”.

Even if this song has a meaning that has to do politics, being politics a topic that the contest wants to keep apart from the festival and focus on the music, the song is receiving a good acceptance within the “Eurofan” (Eurovision Song Contest fan) community. In the betting odds provided by www.eurovisionworld.com, one of the most known Eurovision websites, he is placed 14th out of 42 countries, which is a very good placement and means that he is seen as an absolute qualifier for the finals.

I wish him and his team the best, because Hungary is not a country that has always sent good songs, but this one is making the difference and may have a good result. Though, in the semifinals of this year most of the songs are balanced and some good entries will fail to qualify just for a few points, so no one knows what could happen. In any case, he deserves qualifying to the finals and finishing in the top 15.

He will compete in the second semifinal which will take place on Thursday, May 11th. The grand final is on Saturday, May 13th.

Official Video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LflrKXL022U

National Final Performance:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2stjsoO0NfM